A glimpse back at San Francisco's Chinatown

Photographs capture one of the city's most dynamic neighborhoods in the mid 20th century.

Photo: Orlando/Getty Images

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A night view of San Francisco's Chinatown in the 1950's. The streets are crowded with traffic and neon signs light up the night.

A night view of San Francisco's Chinatown in the 1950's. The streets are crowded with traffic and neon signs light up the night.

Photo: Curt Teich Postcard Archives, Getty Images

A night view of San Francisco's Chinatown in the 1950's.... Photo-4977788.67247 - GreenwichTime

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circa 1955: Two chorus girls prepare for their act in the dressing room of the Forbidden City nightclub in Chinatown, San Francisco.

circa 1955: Two chorus girls prepare for their act in the dressing room of the Forbidden City nightclub in Chinatown, San Francisco.

Photo: Orlando, Getty Images

circa 1955: Two chorus girls prepare for their act in the dressing... Photo-4977820.67247 - GreenwichTime

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People look through a shop window on Grant Avenue in Chinatown in San Francisco on January 13, 1966.

People look through a shop window on Grant Avenue in Chinatown in San Francisco on January 13, 1966.

Photo: Joe Rosenthal, The Chronicle

People look through a shop window on Grant Avenue in Chinatown in... Photo-4977824.67247 - GreenwichTime

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Circa 1955: A little boy listens with rapt attention during a lesson at the Commodore Stockton School in Chinatown, San Francisco. The school provides education for most of Chinatown's younger children, and was named after Robert F Stockton, the first military governor of California. less

Circa 1955: A little boy listens with rapt attention during a lesson at the Commodore Stockton School in Chinatown, San Francisco. The school provides education for most of Chinatown's younger children, and ... more

circa 1955: A young woman eats a bowl of rice using chopsticks in Johnny Kan's famous Chinese restaurant in Chinatown.

circa 1955: A young woman eats a bowl of rice using chopsticks in Johnny Kan's famous Chinese restaurant in Chinatown.

Photo: Orlando, Getty Images

circa 1955: A young woman eats a bowl of rice using chopsticks in... Photo-4977814.67247 - GreenwichTime

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Two Chinese-American women come to have their fortunes told by Chin Toy, an attendant at the Chinese temple or joss house on Pine Street in Chinatown, San Francisco. The temple is owned by the Kong Chow Family Society, and is frequented by followers of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. less

Two Chinese-American women come to have their fortunes told by Chin Toy, an attendant at the Chinese temple or joss house on Pine Street in Chinatown, San Francisco. The temple is owned by the Kong Chow Family ... more

Photo: Orlando, Getty Images

Two Chinese-American women come to have their fortunes told by Chin... Photo-4977781.67247 - GreenwichTime

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San Francisco's Chinatown, the largest outside of Asia, is a bustling neighborhood in early summer 1967.

San Francisco's Chinatown, the largest outside of Asia, is a bustling neighborhood in early summer 1967.

Photo: Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images

San Francisco's Chinatown, the largest outside of Asia, is a... Photo-4977805.67247 - GreenwichTime

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circa 1955: A customer receives her parcel of meat from the butcher at Ying Fat Lung's Chinese shop in Chinatown, San Francisco. Overhead hang dried bunches of Chinese sausage and bacon.

circa 1955: A customer receives her parcel of meat from the butcher at Ying Fat Lung's Chinese shop in Chinatown, San Francisco. Overhead hang dried bunches of Chinese sausage and bacon.

Chinatown in San Francisco, the largest outside of Asia, is a bustling neighborhood in in San Francisco in early summer, 1967.

Chinatown in San Francisco, the largest outside of Asia, is a bustling neighborhood in in San Francisco in early summer, 1967.

Photo: Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images

Chinatown in San Francisco, the largest outside of Asia, is a... Photo-4977789.67247 - GreenwichTime

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Circa 1955: The building which once housed the China Telephone Office on Washington Street, Chinatown, San Francisco, currently the offices of the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company. The original exchange service became redundant with the advent of telephone dialling, although for forty years it had been the only Chinese-speaking exchange outside China, serving 2,100 telephones in the area. less

Circa 1955: The building which once housed the China Telephone Office on Washington Street, Chinatown, San Francisco, currently the offices of the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company. The original exchange ... more

Photo: Orlando, Getty Images

Circa 1955: The building which once housed the China Telephone... Photo-4977791.67247 - GreenwichTime

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Circa 1955: Estelle Jung, a chorus girl at the Forbidden City nightclub in Chinatown, San Francisco, adds the finishing touches to her make-up prior to her act.

Circa 1955: Estelle Jung, a chorus girl at the Forbidden City nightclub in Chinatown, San Francisco, adds the finishing touches to her make-up prior to her act.

A view down Grant Avenue in San Francisco's Chinatown, the sidewalks are filled with pedestrians. Vintage automobiles line the street.

A view down Grant Avenue in San Francisco's Chinatown, the sidewalks are filled with pedestrians. Vintage automobiles line the street.

Photo: Curt Teich Postcard Archives, Getty Images

A view down Grant Avenue in San Francisco's Chinatown, the... Photo-4977792.67247 - GreenwichTime

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circa 1955: A little girl reads aloud from the board during an English class at the Commodore Stockton School in Chinatown, San Francisco. The school provides education for most of Chinatown's younger children. less

circa 1955: A little girl reads aloud from the board during an English class at the Commodore Stockton School in Chinatown, San Francisco. The school provides education for most of Chinatown's younger ... more

Circa 1955: A stallholder at the Yee Wo market in Chinatown, San Francisco, slices off a section of lotus root for a customer. The large knobbly root is imported from Hong Kong, and is a popular ingredient in soup. less

Circa 1955: A stallholder at the Yee Wo market in Chinatown, San Francisco, slices off a section of lotus root for a customer. The large knobbly root is imported from Hong Kong, and is a popular ingredient in ... more

Circa 1955: China Station, the US Post Office situated on Clay Street, Chinatown, San Francisco. Established in 1931, it employs five Chinese-speaking clerks and a superintendent, and serves the 25,000 residents of Chinatown. less

Circa 1955: China Station, the US Post Office situated on Clay Street, Chinatown, San Francisco. Established in 1931, it employs five Chinese-speaking clerks and a superintendent, and serves the 25,000 ... more

circa 1955: A little boy writes carefully on the blackboard during an English lesson at the Commodore Stockton School in Chinatown, San Francisco. The school provides education for most of Chinatown's younger children, and was named after Robert F Stockton, the first military governor of California. less

circa 1955: A little boy writes carefully on the blackboard during an English lesson at the Commodore Stockton School in Chinatown, San Francisco. The school provides education for most of Chinatown's younger ... more

Circa 1955: A scene of east meets west in San Francisco's Chinatown, where a poster advertising American cigarettes stands behind baskets of the traditional Chinese soup ingredients of kelp and white fruit nuts or bok gaw, on sale outside the Chong Kee Jan Company shop. less

Circa 1955: A scene of east meets west in San Francisco's Chinatown, where a poster advertising American cigarettes stands behind baskets of the traditional Chinese soup ingredients of kelp and white fruit ... more

Photo: Orlando, Getty Images

Circa 1955: A scene of east meets west in San Francisco's... Photo-4977813.67247 - GreenwichTime

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Circa 1955: A line of Chinese chorus girls entertains visitors to the Forbidden City nightclub in Chinatown.

Circa 1955: A line of Chinese chorus girls entertains visitors to the Forbidden City nightclub in Chinatown.